Police are on the hunt for a man recently convicted of maliciously infecting his gay lover with the HIV virus whilst they were living together in Brentford.

Mark James, aged 47, whose latest address was given as Burgess Hill in West Sussex' had admitted causing grevious bodily harm but he failed to attend two court dates at Isleworth Crown Court and has been given a jail sentence of four and a half years.

James is believed to be the first homosexual to have been convicted of this offence. He continued to have unprotected sex with his partner, who cannot be named for legal reasons, despite testing positive for HIV and syphilis. His partner, who believed the relationship to be monogamous, only found out about the infection when he became seriously ill and was rushed to hospital.

A judge has issued a warrant for his arrest but police have as yet been unable to track him down.